McMurry softball kicks off inaugural season

McMurry softball coach David McNally claps after relaying signs to a batter
during Game 1 of a season-opening doubleheader against Trinity on Friday at Redbud Park.(Photo: Daniel Youngblood/Reporter-News)Buy Photo

The McMurry softball team hit its first milestone Friday, playing its first two games in program history.

Now, the War Hawks focus on their second — securing the program's first victory.

Coach David McNally's fledgling squad nearly pulled that off in its season and program opener, falling 6-5 in eight innings in Game 1 of a nonconference doubleheader against Trinity. It followed that at Redbud Park with a 7-4 loss in the nightcap.

Though the results weren't what the team was hoping for, the War Hawks showed they belonged on the field with an established Division III program — and gave their coach plenty to look forward to the rest of the way.

"Our kids are young and inexperienced when it comes to playing time," McNally said. "I thought we played pretty well defensively. Offensively, we just fell behind. You have to be aggressive when you're up there and you can't have any regrets, and we kind of held ourselves back. I think our nerves definitely played a factor, but these kids are good.

"It all comes down to the younger kids. Our younger kids are going to step up and they're going to do their job. We have a long season ahead of us, a long season. Right there, we battled and we competed. Trinity's a good team."

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McMurry outfielder Courtney Owen hits a flyball during Game 1 of a season-opening doubleheader against Trinity on Friday at Redbud Park.(Photo: Daniel Youngblood/Reporter-News)

Trinity, which improved to 4-0 on the season with a doubleheader sweep of Hardin-Simmons on Saturday, went 17-28 last season. But the Tigers posted winning seasons in four of the previous five campaigns before that.

For a program comprised of 11 freshmen and eight junior college transfers, none of which had played together before this year, McMurry more than held its own.

"Right now, it's about getting innings in," said McNally, formerly the softball coach at Abilene High. "Even with my junior college kids that are here, they've never played together. So every game and every inning we get out here, we're going to get better. We're going to fine tune everything each and every game."

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McMurry pitcher Cheyenne West throws a pitch during Game 1 of a season-opening doubleheader against Trinity on Friday at Redbud Park.(Photo: Daniel Youngblood/Reporter-News)

The War Hawks' first game drew a nice crowd to Redbud Park. The home bleachers were largely full and fans lined the fence down the first-base line.

McNally said the show of support for the new program was appreciated, both by him and his players.

"That kind of stuff's exciting," he said. "When you get to bring out a crowd like we did (Friday), that adds excitement to it. It's nice to see all the fans and teachers and students that are out here."

That said, the coach charged with starting up the McMurry program is looking forward to seeing the novelty die down some, so his players can just relax and play.

"I think the fact that just because we got this first game over, that was the biggest thing for us," McNally said. "The nerves is more of the hype. They're so excited and they want to get out here and they want to perform and they want to do everything the best they possibly can.

"Sometimes, you've just got to slow down. Hopefully with us having (those games) down, we can slow down a little bit."

The War Hawks (0-2) return to the field Friday for another home doubleheader, this one against Southwestern. Game 1 is slated for 3 p.m., followed by the second game 20 minutes later.

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McMurry second baseman Megyn Castillo, left, congratulations Avery McDaniel after the shortstop's diving catch during Game 1 of a season-opening doubleheader against Trinity on Friday at Redbud Park.(Photo: Daniel Youngblood/Reporter-News)